‘Preparing For The Unthinkable’: CDC To Hold Briefing On How To Prepare The Public For a Nuclear Detonation In America

Amid rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention have scheduled a briefing for later this month that will teach healthcare professionals how to better prepare the public for a nuclear detonation in America.

The “teaching session” will target doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, pharmacists, veterinarians, certified health education specialists, laboratory scientists, and others and will be held January 16th.

A posting on the CDC website outlines the agencies “Public Health Response to a Nuclear Detonation” which details the need to be able to inform the public on how to possibly survive such an attack.

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“While a nuclear detonation is unlikely, it would have devastating results and there would be limited time to take critical protection steps. Despite the fear surrounding such an event, planning and preparation can lessen deaths and illness,” the notice reads.

“For instance, most people don’t realize that sheltering in place for at least 24 hours is crucial to saving lives and reducing exposure to radiation. While federal, state, and local agencies will lead the immediate response efforts, public health will play a key role in responding.”

Stat News reports:

A spokesperson for the agency said planning for the event has been underway for months — in fact, since CDC officials took part in a “radiation/nuclear incident exercise” led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last April, Kathy Harben said in an email.

“CDC participants felt it would be a good way to discuss public health preparedness and share resources with states and other partners. State and local partners also have expressed interest in this topic over time,” she said.

Still, the timing of the announcement was eerie, coming on the heels of back-to-back threats exchanged between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

CBS News also reported on the planned briefing, noting its specific connection to North Korea as well as the fact that some of the speakers specialize in radiation studies.

Two of the people presenting at the briefing specialize in radiation studies. Robert Whitcomb is the chief of the radiation studies branch at the CDC’s National Center for Environment Health and Capt. Michael Noska is the radiation safety officer and senior advisor for health physics at the Food and Drug Administration.

This comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. President Trump tweeted Tuesday night, boasting about the size of his “nuclear button” and how it’s “much bigger & more powerful” than North Korea’s.

The CBS report concluded with the worrying admission that both former Vice President Joe Biden and Admiral Mike Mullen believe that the United States is closer to a nuclear war with the rogue nation than ever before.

It is also important to note that, despite the danger that Americans face from the possibility of a nuclear attack by a rogue nation that has publicly claimed said attack was coming, liberals throughout the media, including some in the “alternative press” continue to claim that the Communist nation is not the problem rather it is Donald Trump who would be to blame if such a war did occur.

To be sure, this is absolute nonsense and ignores the documented history of North Korea in favor of some never support a war attitude that could eventually lead to the destruction of the country.

Study Finds American Medical System Unprepared for a Nuclear Attack

This report was originally published by Tracey Watson at NaturalNews.com

There is no doubt that the United States has dedicated, well-trained first responders who bravely risk their own lives when disaster strikes. We have only to view images of the tragic events of 9/11 to realize how brave these men and women truly are.

Nonetheless, a disturbing study by researchers from the University of Georgia recently found that the majority of U.S. first responders have received no training in how to deal with the aftereffects of a nuclear attack, and that many are so frightened of radiation that they would be unwilling to assist in the event of such a disaster.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

News Wise reports that experts have warned that “a radiological or nuclear event is inevitable,” and as such, it is vitally important that emergency workers be trained and ready to deal with this when it happens.

The New Yorker recently warned that America’s relations with North Korea, which have never been particularly good, have been strained to breaking point in the past few months:

In the six years since Kim Jong Un assumed power, at the age of twenty-seven, he has tested eighty-four missiles—more than double the number that his father and grandfather tested. … On the Fourth of July, North Korea passed a major threshold: it launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile powerful enough to reach the mainland United States.

And, U.S. defense secretary, Jim Mattis, has warned that the threat of a nuclear attack by North Korea “is accelerating.” (Related: Intelligence insider says war with North Korea likely within weeks: This could be your final prepper warning.)

To test whether emergency personnel are prepared for such an eventuality, the research team surveyed over 400 first responders from across the U.S. and Asia. They wanted to determine two things:

1) Would emergency workers even be willing to show up at the site of a nuclear attack?

2) How prepared are they to handle this type of crisis?

Shockingly, more than 50 percent of the respondents admitted that they had never received any special training in how to deal with a nuclear crisis. As a result, many were poorly informed, for example, believing that the greatest need for treatment in the aftermath of a nuclear attack would be for thermal burns, when in reality, most injuries in this type of situation are lacerations.

This lack of knowledge would leave personnel ill-prepared and under-resourced in the event of a nuclear disaster.

Another disturbing truth revealed by the survey was that a nuclear bomb would make many respondents “unwilling to come to work.” Survey participants were more terrified of a nuclear disaster than any other crisis, including a chemical or biological disaster.

“I was not surprised that the responses from the emergency medical community were relatively poor in terms of knowledge and attitudes, because that’s what you get with radiation—myths versus reality,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Cham E. Dallas, director of the Institute for Disaster Management at UGA’s College of Public Health.

It is important that emergency medical personnel be taught that they can confidently respond in a nuclear crisis situation. Historically, responding to such events has not presented any risk to first responders.

The research team believes that medical personnel are afraid of nuclear events because humans tend to fear what they do not know, and these types of events are incredibly rare.

Professor Dallas also pointed out that Hollywood’s portrayal of such events adds to the myth that nothing can be done in the face of a nuclear disaster, when this is really not the truth.

Irrespective, the study has highlighted the urgent need for the first responders that we all rely on to be trained and ready to deal with what is increasingly looking like an inevitable nuclear disaster.

Sources include:

NewsWise.com

FrontiersIn.org

NewYorker.com

TheGuardian.com

True Dangers Posed by North Korea

This article’s purpose is not to deal with the political issues behind the potential conflict between North Korea and the United States. For some time, now, the United States has needed a “wake up call” among the citizens. The Obama administration carried on a disinformation campaign of denying North Korean capabilities. The reason: to downplay the threat (increasing over the years) and simultaneously to weaken the United States by eroding her military capabilities and opening us up to an attack.

That being mentioned, the naysayers among “experts” who concluded that “North Korea does not possess the capability to inflict a nuclear strike on the United States” are now in full-180-degree mode: now they are admitting the truth.

There could not be much more of a stark truth than the words spoken after the successful test launch of North Korea’s newest ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) on 11/29/17. The U.S. Secretary of Defense, General Mattis said this:

“[The missile] went higher, frankly, than any previous shots they have taken. It’s a research and development effort on their part to continue building ballistic missile that could threaten everywhere in the world basically.”

So, to add to what he said came the words of Colonel Robert Manning, a spokesman for the Pentagon, who said this:

            “Initial assessment indicates that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

In this “connect-the-dot” game that has been ongoing, now, for the past year and gathering steam with President Trump’s inauguration, the experts have had to admit (begrudgingly) that North Korea can strike the United States.  This launch is different, because not only is re-entry confirmed (the missile traveled 10 times higher than the ISS, the International Space Station), but on a flat trajectory it can easily reach Washington. Estimates placed that range on this one as being 8,100 miles, more than 1,500 miles greater than the distance needed to hit Washington, D.C.

The big “news” is this: The missile reached the height of at least 4,000 km (about 2,400 miles), and at that height, the concern is that with such a height, it cannot be accurately estimated or determined what the destination of the missile is.

Such is perfect for an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) weapon to be used.

In September we saw the “death by defunding” of the Commission to Assess the EMP threat against the United States. Its most vocal and esteemed chair and spokespersons, Dr. Graham and Dr. Pry have pleaded unsuccessfully with Congress and the President to take the decades of research and classified information gathered about North Korea seriously. They have repeatedly warned about an EMP strike against the United States.

What would happen? Except for shielded installations (mostly among military bases and governmental installations), we would lose our power grid. A “cascade effect” would follow, as everything in our society is dependent upon instantaneous communications, transportation, and financial systems only functional with electricity. There is also the unknown factor of the nuclear power facilities: Each has a backup electrical system with generators, however, nobody really knows if these will be working after an EMP strike.

Picture several dozen Fukushimas all over the United States…the problem especially being with the ability to cool the reactors and to cool the piles of spent nuclear material kept in storage. Add to this the demands of 325 million people who all still need food, water, medicine, and a myriad of other requirements…all of a sudden, thrust back into a pre-industrial state of living. As of this writing, Senator (in name only) Lindsay Graham is stating that we may have to go to war, and Tillerson is talking about a naval blockade.

We’ll see what happens, but as I’ve written in previous articles, the loss of millions of lives either potentially or in actuality is a serious matter, and war is one vehicle that can serve to bring the U.S. down completely in the march toward globalism. Better to be wrong about it a thousand times and be as aware and prepared as you can be than to be right about it once without a plan and supplies in place. Let the facts from research by Dr. Graham and Dr. Pry be your guide, as well as the ineptitude, crookedness, possible hidden agendas, and self-interests of our politicians also guide you to making the right decisions for you and your family.

The next world war will be initiated by an EMP attack, followed by a nuclear war and then a war with conventional forces.

“A Lot of People Will Be Killed”: California Officials Preparing for Nuclear Attack

(ZH) With each passing day and each new ICBM launch from a seemingly unhinged North Korean dictator, the fears of an attack on the U.S. mainland, though faint, increasingly weigh on the hearts and minds of Americans, particularly those in California.  As The Guardian points out this week, those fears have even prompted a group of California public health officials and emergency responders to gather for a strategy session with Hal Kempfer, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, to discuss which areas are the most likely targets and how citizens should respond to an attack.

Hal Kempfer, a noted international security expert, is getting a roomful of California public health officials and emergency responders to think about the unthinkable – a nuclear bomb exploding at the port of Long Beach, about four miles away.

“A lot of people will be killed,” he said, “but a large percentage of the population will survive. They will be at risk and they will need help.”

“If you want to mess up southern California, if you want to mess up the west coast, if you want to mess up our country – where do you attack?” Kempfer asks. “If I’m sitting in North Korea and looking at possible targets, I’m going to be looking at Long Beach very closely.”

He talks about the port and downtown Long Beach being “toast” – no exaggeration, since the blast wave is likely to vaporize everything in its immediate path. But the city health department, the Long Beach airport and fire department might not be; they are all somewhat protected by a hilly area that is likely to halt the initial blast wave. And so the city can, tentatively, think about setting up a center of emergency operations.

Of course, the radioactive fallout created as the explosion gathers up tremendous quantities of dust and ocean water and spits them into the atmosphere would represent a secondary grave risk, especially in the first hours after an attack.

Not to mention the electromagnetic pulse that is likely to knock out electronic systems including phones and computers, the pile-ups expected on the freeways as drivers are blinded by the flash of the explosion, the rush for food, water and gasoline as millions of Angelenos attempt to drive out of the region, and the terror triggered by even the idea of a second, follow-up attack.

Meanwhile, lest you think this was all just a creative way for some public employees to skip work for a day, Ventura County, located just northwest of Los Angeles, has even taken the unusual step of prepping a 250-page plan on how to respond to the humanitarian crisis that would result from a nuclear attack in Los Angeles.

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In fact, their efforts even include this truly bizarre public service announcement that instructs folks to shelter in place and cover windows with plastic.

Of course, as we pointed out back in August, while a global nuclear confrontation is generally viewed as a bad thing, for Ron Hubbard, President of Atlas Survival Shelters in Los Angeles, it has resulted in an economic windfall as a staggering number of Californians have suddenly turned into doomsday preppers.

How Much of a Nuclear Threat is North Korea Really?

We all like to scoff at that crazy little dictator, Kim Jong Un, who is a walking caricature, putting himself on the cover of a magazine as the sexiest man alive and talking smack like a WWF champ. But, in all seriousness, is North Korea actually a threat?

Unfortunately, it looks like the answer to that question is yes…and they’re turning into a bigger one each year.

Despite the buffoonery of their Dear Leader, the threat of North Korea is growing rapidly, according to the US Intelligence community. When prepping for a nuclear strike becomes the officially recommended course of action, it is time to pay attention.

(What you do in the minutes after a detonation could save your life. Learn what to do in the event of a nuclear strike here.)

They have successfully tested an ICBM that could carry a nuke.

The US military Defense Intelligence Agency says that by sometime in 2018, North Korea could have an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with the ability to transport a nuclear warhead.

They’re basing this on a recent successful test of such an ICBM.

“This test, and its impact on our assessments, highlight the threat that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose to the United States, to our allies in the region, and to the whole world,” the DNI’s National Intelligence Manager for East Asia, Scott Bray, told CBS News on Tuesday, adding that the U.S. intelligence community was “closely monitoring the expanding threat from North Korea.” (source)

Currently, Alaska, part of Canada, and Hawaii are within range.

Right now, experts don’t believe that North Korea could transport a nuclear warhead to the US mainland, however, Alaska and Hawaii are at risk. Hawaii would be a particularly valuable target, as it is the home of the US Pacific Command.

This image shows the current reach of different missiles that we know they possess.

Image Credit

However, they’re making rapid progress, and experts believe that by sometime in 2018, they’ll have the capability of striking the West Coast, with its large population centers in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Francisco.

The US State Department has advised American citizens against visiting North Korea.

In the immortal words of my daughters in their pre-teen years, “Duh.”

Although I personally can’t understand why anyone would want to travel to North Korea, especially after what happened to that poor young man, Otto Warmbier, it appears that thousands of people vacation there every year. 95% of the visitors are from China and about 75% of the visitors are male. About 800 Americans per year make the trip.

Recently, the State Department issued a travel warning:

The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). U.S. citizens in the DPRK are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement. This system imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States and threatens U.S. citizen detainees with being treated in accordance with “wartime law of the DPRK.” Since the United States does not maintain diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the U.S. government has no means to provide normal consular services to U.S. citizens in North Korea. This notice updates the number of U.S. citizens who have been detained in North Korea and replaces the Travel Warning dated February 7, 2017. (source)

Being part of an official tour won’t help Americans if they are found with anything in their possession that is critical of North Korea, and there is no consulate there to rescue you. Some of the things that are illegal in North Korea and punishable by labor camps or death are:

• Showing disrespect to the country’s former leaders, Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il, or for the country’s current leader, Kim Jong Un, including but not limited to tampering with or mishandling materials bearing their names or images;


• Entering North Korea without proper travel documentation;


• Possessing material that is in any way critical of the DPRK government;


• Proselytizing or carrying out religious activities, including activities that may be construed as such, like leaving behind religious materials;


• Engaging in unsanctioned political activities;


• Traveling without authorization, even for short distances;


• Having unauthorized interaction with the local population;


• Exchanging currency with an unauthorized vendor;


• Taking unauthorized photographs;


• Bringing pornography into the country;


• Shopping at stores not designated for foreigners; and


• Removing or tampering with political slogans and signs or pictures of political leaders.

(source)

Personally, I’d rather go just about anywhere on the planet than North Korea, but that’s just me.

What preparations are being made for a potential attack?

When prepping becomes official, it’s time to pay attention.

First, the US recently tested defense technology and successfully shot down a simulated, incoming intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) similar to the ones used by North Korea. The simulation took place over the Pacific Ocean in July:

The test was the first-ever of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against an incoming IRBM, which experts say is a faster and more difficult target to hit than shorter-range missiles.

The US Missile Defense Agency said the IRBM was designed to behave similarly to the kinds of missiles that could threaten the US.

“The successful demonstration of THAAD against an IRBM-range missile threat bolsters the country’s defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries,” the Missile Defense Agency said in a statement. (source)

Finding themselves particularly in the crosshairs of North Korea, Hawaii has been openly working to prepare citizens for the potential of an attack. They’ll be testing an attack warning system in November.

A “guidance summary” from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency says residents will be alerted of nuclear detonation through siren alarms and flashing white lights. An Emergency Alert System will broadcast over television and radio frequencies as well. (source)

The state has released official guidelines on surviving a potential nuclear attack. (This is useful information no matter where you live.)

Matthew LoPresti, a legislator in Hawaii has been a strong advocate of the preparations.

“People think everybody would perish, but that is not the case. It would be a mass casualty event, but most people would survive. If you don’t take steps, more people will lose their lives.” (source)

A dear friend of mine living in Hawaii recently attended a public meeting informing citizens about getting prepared for the potential of an attack. Citizens were told that an official response could take a while, and to plan to be completely on their own for up to a month. (Gosh, sounds familiar, right?) These meetings have been taking place all over the state as the local government urges residents to be prepared for a disaster, a shut-down of services, and a complete halt to any merchandise of food being shipped into the islands.

They aren’t the only ones preparing. Los Angeles California is also making preparations for the potential of an attack, even though the technology is not expected to be advanced enough to reach them right now.

Fleets of big black trucks, harbor boats and aircraft, equipped with radiation sensors and operated by specially trained law enforcement teams, are ready to swing into action in Los Angeles for a catastrophe that nobody even wants to think about: a North Korean nuclear attack…

“We monitor events all over the world and assess whether there is something that could impact us here,” said Capt. Leonard McCray, commander of the emergency operations bureau at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “North Korea is clearly one of them.”

As tension rises, the inevitable question is: How well prepared are Los Angeles and other U.S. cities for a nuclear strike? The answer is somewhat unexpected. After two decades of fighting terrorism, law enforcement agencies and the federal government today are better equipped and trained to handle the aftermath of a limited nuclear attack than they ever were during the Cold War. Yet generations of Americans have grown up without learning how to protect themselves in the aftermath of a detonation. (source)

Unsurprisingly, some people object to preparing citizens for a nuclear attack.

There are several reasons that some squeaky wheels object to these wise preparations.

David Wright, a weapons expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says that civil defense preparations are sending the wrong message to Kim Jong Un. And Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons analyst with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., thinks that the Venture County Sheriff’s Department may be overreacting.

“He’s ruthless, but he’s not crazy. There’s reason to be cautious. But it’s not a reason to start digging bomb shelters.” (source)

Hawaii’s Tourism Authority is likewise unimpressed. Charlene Chan, their spokeswoman, said in a statement:

“Everyone’s safety in Hawaii is always our top priority. However, we also know from speaking to our tourism industry partners that if reports are misinterpreted about the state’s need to prepare for an attack, this could lead to travelers and groups staying away from Hawaii. The effect of such a downturn would ultimately be felt by residents who rely on tourism’s success for their livelihood.” (source)

According to Chan, they shouldn’t be worried because an attack by North Korea “is a very remote possibility at this time.”

Finally, prepping becomes official.

I applaud the preparations being made. While the reason behind it is terrible, it’s always a positive sign when people realize that they can’t always depend on the government to save them.

This article explains what to do in the event of a nuclear strike. As stressed above, if you aren’t at Ground Zero, it’s entirely survivable and it isn’t going to turn into some nuclear winter in which your surviving neighbors decide which family to cook for dinner, ala The Road.

We can scoff at North Korea as much as we want, but the fact remains that their technology is advancing extremely rapidly. Their tests are becoming more successful. And this article doesn’t even touch on the potential of an EMP, which, if detonated over the middle of the US would have a potentially devastating effect for a long period of time.

While North Korea has to know that they’ll lose in the event of a war, the vibe I get from Kim Jong Un is that he would be delighted to cause as much damage as possible on his way out.

Think about the psychology of someone who knows he is going to die anyway. When they’ve got nothing left to lose, people become dangerous indeed.

The threat is real.

U.S. missile defense system only shoots down 3 out of 9 ICBMs in tests: 33% success

(INTELLIHUB) — The Pentagon has some answering to do when it comes to the country’s primary missile defense system after tests shockingly conclude that only 3 out of 9 intercepts actually strike their targets.

The revelation returns to front and center as a U.S. Navy armada was diverted by the head of the Navy’s Pacific Command from Austrailia Saturday and ordered to head toward the Korean Peninsula at near flank speed amidst North Korea’s worsening nuclear provocations.

According to tests and various reports, U.S. defenses may not be capable of adequately protecting the country from a surprise nuclear attack from North Korea due to the fact that the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) isn’t operating up to par as it very well should. Simply put, the $40 billion dollar system is only intercepting ICBM targets 33% of the time and is rather ineffective.

So, in a nutshell, how does GMD work?

“The GMD interceptors are 60-foot tall three-stage rockets,” one report said. “Each has a 5-foot, 150 lb., kill vehicle attached to its tip.”

“In the event of an attack, the interceptors would be launched from underground silos. Once in space, the kill vehicles would separate from their boost rockets and fly independently toward their target at speeds up to 4-miles per second.”

Major flaws of the GMD

The downfall of the GMD is that there are only 37 interceptors in total in the U.S., four of which are in Santa Barbara, California and the remaining 33 are in Alaska.

“In nine simulated attacks since 2004, interceptors have failed to take out their targets 6 out of 9 times,” the report said, which also concluded that such simulations were conducted under favorable conditions and that defending against an actual nuclear attack may not be so easy.

Moreover, other problems plague the GMD and in several test flights, intercepts have veered off course due to a “circuit board malfunction” which caused the thrusters to alter the course of the kill vehicle.

All of these factors and others have now pushed experts to believe that a preemptive strike may be the way to go when it comes to dealing with the North Korean threat.

Further Reading:

• Report: Two N. Korean satellites are capable of delivering a surprise nuclear-EMP attack on U.S.

• Report: Seal Team 6 is training to take out North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

North Korea Threatens U.S. With Nuclear Attack At Any Sign Of Pre-Emptive Strike

With the USS Carl Vinson carrier group steaming toward the Korean peninsula for what some speculate may be to launch a “decapitation” strike on the Kim Jong-Un regime, on Tuesday North Korean state media threatened the US with a nuclear attack at any sign of a U.S. pre-emptive strike, and warned it is ready for “war” as Washington tightened the screws on the nuclear-armed state.

North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the country was prepared to respond to any aggression by the United States. “Our revolutionary strong army is keenly watching every move by enemy elements with our nuclear sight focused on the U.S. invasionary bases not only in South Korea and the Pacific operation theatre but also in the U.S. mainland,” it said.

The North’s foreign ministry, in a statement carried by its KCNA news agency, said the U.S. navy strike group’s approach showed America’s “reckless moves for invading had reached a serious phase”.

“We never beg for peace but we will take the toughest counteraction against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of arms and keep to the road chosen by ourselves,” an unidentified ministry spokesman said.

Tensions escalated sharply over the past week on the Korean peninsula with talk of imminent military action by the United States gaining traction following its strikes last week against Syria and amid concerns the reclusive North may soon conduct a sixth nuclear test.

The North also convened a Supreme People’s Assembly session on Tuesday, one of its twice-yearly sessions in which major appointments are announced and national policy goals are formally approved. Delegates from around the North have been arriving in Pyongyang ahead of the assembly session. They visited statues of previous leaders Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il, state media reported.

Saturday is the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the country’s founding father and grandfather of current ruler, Kim Jong Un. A military parade is expected in the North’s capital, Pyongyang, to mark the day. North Korea often also marks important anniversaries with tests of its nuclear or missile capabilities in breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Thousands of troops and top military officials gathered in Pyongyang on Monday to pledge loyalty to leader Kim Jong-Un ahead of his grandfather’s birth anniversary, state media said.

State TV showed thousands of goose-stepping soldiers marching in unison, carrying giant portraits of the regime’s founder Kim Il-Sung and his son, Kim Jong-Il, in front of the Kumsusan mausoleum where their embalmed bodies are on display.

“If they (the US and the South) try to ignite the spark of war, we will wipe out all of the invaders without a trace with… our strong pre-emptive nuclear strike,” Hwang Pyong-So, director of the political bureau at the North’s army, said in a speech.

According to Reuters, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a message of congratulations to mark the event, lambasting “big powers” for their “expansionist” policy.

“The friendly two countries are celebrating this anniversary and, at the same time, conducting a war against big powers’ wild ambition to subject all countries to their expansionist and dominationist policy and deprive them of their rights to self-determination,” Russian news agency Tass quote the message as saying.

North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy the South and its main ally, the United States.

Meanwhile, a few hundred kilometers to the south, South Korean acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn warned of “greater provocations” by North Korea and ordered the military to intensify monitoring and to ensure close communication with the United States. “It is possible the North may wage greater provocations such as a nuclear test timed with various anniversaries including the Suprme People’s Assembly,” said Hwang, acting leader since former president Park Geun-hye was removed amid a graft scandal.

South Korean officials also took pains to quell talk in social media of an impending security crisis or outbreak of war. “We’d like to ask precaution so as not to get blinded by exaggerated assessment about the security situation on the Korean peninsula,” Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said.

The South’s prime minister and acting president warned of a “grave provocation” by the North to coincide with other anniversaries, including the army’s founding day on April 25. “There is a possibility that the North launches more grave provocations such as another nuclear test to mark a number of anniversaries,” Hwang Kyo-Ahn said in a cabinet meeting.

On Monday, the Chosun South Korean newspaper reported that 150,000 Chinese troops had been deployed to the Chinese border to “prepare for unforeseen circumstances” such as the prospect of “military options.”

* * *

Alongside Syria, North Korea has emerged as one of the most pressing foreign policy problems facing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. It has conducted five nuclear tests, two of them last year, and is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States. The Trump administration is reviewing its policy towards North Korea and has said all options are on the table, including military strikes, but U.S. officials said non-military action appears to be at the top of the list if any action were to be taken.

Speaking on the topic of US policy vis-a-vis NK, Russia’s foreign ministry, in a statement ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said it was concerned about many aspects of U.S. foreign policy, and particularly concerned about North Korea.

“We are really worried about what Washington has in mind for North Korea after it hinted at the possibility of a unilateral military scenario,” a statement said. “It’s important to understand how that would tally with collective obligations on de-nuclearising the Korean peninsula, something that is underpinned in U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

As a reminder, last week the U.S. Navy strike group Carl Vinson was diverted from planned port calls to Australia and would move towards the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula as a show of force. That said, those expecting an imminent strikes by the US on North Korea may have to wait: U.S. officials said it would still take the strike group more than a week to arrive near the Korean peninsula. 

And then there is China.

According to Reuters, China and South Korea agreed on Monday to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea if it carried out nuclear or long-range missile tests, a senior official in Seoul said. On Tuesday, a fleet of North Korean cargo ships was heading home to the port of Nampo, the majority of it fully laden, after China ordered its trading companies to return coal from the isolated state to curb coal traffic, sources with direct knowledge of the trade said.

The order was given on April 7, just as Trump and Xi were set for the summit where the two agreed the North Korean nuclear advances had reached a “very serious stage”, Tillerson said. As we reported at the end of February, China joined western nations in further isolating the Kim regime when banned all imports of North Korean coal on Feb. 26, cutting off the country’s most important export product.

As well as the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth, there are several other North Korean anniversaries in April that could be opportunities for weapon tests, South Korean officials have said.

As reported two weeks ago, satellite imagery from 38 North has shown that North Korea is seen ready to conduct its sixth nuclear test at any time, with movements detected by satellite at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Should Kim do that as the US carrier is in proximity, it will likely be the last thing he ever does.